On Sept. 24, filmmaker Davis Guggenheim’s “Waiting for Superman” hit theaters. Since its release, the film has sparked gushing praise from the corporate media for its heartfelt portrayal of five public school children and their families’ struggles to secure a quality education. The film’s message is unmistakable: Public education is in crisis, and we have to do something to fix it. However, beyond this simple truth of which almost any working-class person in the United States is already painfully aware, the film is full of partial truths and misrepresentations.
 ‘Superman’ demonizes teachers’ unions |
The film characterizes the teachers’ unions as the most significant hurdle to reform and progress. In the narrative promoted by “Superman,” schools need good teachers, while the union’s’ primary role is preventing bad teachers from being removed from classrooms. Never is it mentioned how the unions have fought tirelessly over the decades for smaller class sizes, compliance with special education rights and fair funding.
The film also grossly misrepresents the system of tenure that teachers’ unions won after years of collective struggle. Contrary to what the film suggests, tenure is not automatic, and it does not make it impossible to fire a teacher. It is granted on the basis of criteria agreed upon by the union and a school district or other state entity, and it gives teachers the right to due process, if fired.
In addition, the film makes the mistake of suggesting that the U.S. public education system was once a glorious institution that has somehow fallen from grace in the last few decades. The synopsis on the film’s website characterizes the public education of previous generations as “a great American education” that was “once taken for granted,” ignoring the history of racism and chronic underfunding that public school students have endured over the last century and which continues to this day.
While “Superman” spends limited energy on proposing a solution, it presents the charter school movement as the most promising way forward. There are some progressive educators and devoted parents who are involved in developing charter schools in the effort to create a quality option for free education. This does not change the fact, however, that the charter school movement is funded by corporations and hedge funds eager to break unionized labor and open new markets under the false banner of educational opportunity. Nor are charter schools on the whole any better than regular public schools, and in fact, despite a few exceptions to the rule, most charters are surpassed by their traditional public counterparts.
The release and widespread promotion of this film coordinates with a massive advertising campaign against teachers’ unions, funded by the most anti-labor foundations in the country. It is also taking place in the context of budget shortfalls, when the government always goes on the offensive against public sector workers and their unions in the interest of “efficiency.” These anti-worker cutback campaigns can only proceed if people can be convinced that such workers represent a “special interest” opposed to the “public interest.” The tales of these students and their parents are sincerely heart-wrenching, but the weakening of unions will not address the crisis of public education. On the contrary, the effort to weaken the unions is an attack on an education system that is required to provide a free public education for all children.
The filmmakers of “Waiting for Superman” are right that quality education should be available to all, and not limited to a select few who win a lucky ticket into a charter or private school. But their proposals are all wrong. The Party for Socialism and Liberation proposes another vision for the
future of education, and it involves parents, school staff and students
united to improve schools, demanding the massive investments in education that our communities need. That sort of vision can be made a reality if we fight for it–join us.
